Light is the foundation of all visual art. Whether wielded by a painter’s brush or captured through a camera lens, light dictates form, mood, and storytelling. Photographers often focus on camera settings and gear, but the secret to creating truly compelling images lies in training your eye—learning to see light as painters do. Photography is all about that light!
By studying the techniques of classical painters, we can develop a deeper understanding of how light behaves, its relationship with color and composition, and how to use it to create striking, artistic images. In this guide, we’ll explore how applying painterly principles can transform the way you approach photography.
The Painter’s Approach to Light
Painters have long been students of light. Unlike photographers, who capture existing light, painters create it from scratch, carefully constructing how it falls on a subject, how shadows interact, and how it guides the viewer’s eye. Before stepping into the field, it’s helpful to examine how classical painters used various lighting techniques:
Rembrandt and Caravaggio: Dramatic contrast and directional light.
Monet and the Impressionists: Soft, diffused light and atmospheric color.
Turner and the Romantics: Expressive, golden light with a sense of movement.
By understanding these approaches, you’ll start to recognize similar lighting in nature and use it to compose your shots.
Left: "landscape with the Rest on the Flight into Egypt" by Rembrandt Van Rijn, 1647
Right: A self portrait taken in Goblin Valley, Utah, using light to create a sense of exploration amongst the rocks. Coupled with the movement in my dress gives the sense of a quick turn as if there is something lurking in the cave that the viewer cant quite see... yet.
Chiaroscuro: The Drama of Light and Shadow
Chiaroscuro, meaning “light-dark” in Italian, is a technique mastered by artists like Caravaggio and Rembrandt. It involves the deliberate use of strong contrasts between light and shadow to create depth, drama, and three-dimensionality. The idea behind this is that all the key important points in the image should be in bright light drawing the eye to exactly where the story is happening. When we look at these paintings we often notice expressions or smaller details once we know that the light was very intentional.
How to Apply It in Photography:
Look for directional lighting, such as golden hour sunlight filtering through trees or window light illuminating a portrait subject.
Use side lighting to create depth and emphasize texture in landscapes.
Experiment with high-contrast scenes to highlight key elements of a composition.
"An Experiment of a Bird" by Joseph Wright of Derby, 1768. Paying close attention to all the places where the light is most prominent reveals so many interesting stories happening in one scene, from the girl in the front to the woman closing the window curtains in the back.
Monet’s Cathedral: A Study in Light
Claude Monet famously painted the Rouen Cathedral over thirty times to capture how changing light transformed the structure throughout the day. Each painting looks remarkably different because Monet understood the powerful effect light had on color, texture, and atmosphere.
What Photographers Can Learn:
Revisiting the same scene repeatedly helps you understand how subtle changes in light dramatically alter the mood and narrative.
Observing a scene closely throughout the day reveals nuances you might otherwise miss. These nuances become the key to telling the story or setting the mood. Most locations in landscape photography look very different from midday to blue hour.
Make sure you are making the most of the light in your scene and using to to give your vision life. Sunset isn't always the best option for your image.
Monet’s repetitive approach is a valuable lesson in patience and observation, essential for photographers looking to deepen their understanding of natural light.
The Golden Hour and Beyond: Understanding Light’s Qualities
Painters often depicted landscapes at specific times of day to capture the most evocative lighting conditions. As we discussed, Monet’s cathedral studies beautifully illustrate this point. You as the artist can be making this decision prior to capturing the scene, really thinking through the full picture (pun intended) and making deliberate choices when deciding the time that you will click the shutter button.
How to Apply It in Photography:
Golden Hour (Sunrise & Sunset): Warm, directional light creates long shadows and rich color contrast. This can be in a couple different types, front lighting, back lighting, and side lighting.
Blue Hour (Twilight): Soft, cool tones enhance mood and atmosphere. We still pay attention to the direction of light here as well. Even though the sun has set there is still a soft directional glow.
Overcast Days: Diffused lighting mimics the soft transitions of light seen in impressionist paintings. This give the least amount of directional light depending on how strong the cloud cover is.
By observing how natural light changes, photographers can anticipate the best moments to shoot and use light to evoke emotion.
My own "Study of Light" These are three RAW images (no editing) that showcase how light changes the scene. Starting from the left we have Sunset, Blue Hour, Astronomical Twilight. You can see the dramatic difference from one to the other. all these images were taken within 2 hours of each other. In all reality I wish I would have been able to get into position earlier so I could have capture the light on the foreground as well.
The Position of Light: How it Changes the Scene
The position of your light source can drastically alter the mood and visual impact of your images, just as it does in classical paintings:
Front Lighting: Flattens shadows and clearly reveals details, useful for vibrant landscapes or portraits.
Side Lighting: Enhances textures, creates depth, and emphasizes form, perfect for landscapes and still life.
Back Lighting: Highlights edges and contours, creates silhouettes, and adds drama.
Understanding and consciously positioning yourself relative to the source of light can transform the way your images communicate with the viewer. The theme you will find here is that this is an active choice to be made before setting up your tripod. Consider what you want to bring out in the scene and what mood do you want to set? Then simply pick the location and time of the shoot based on these choices.
From the Left: Example of Front Lighting through passing storm clouds, Side Lighting at Sunset, and finally Back Lighting just after the sun dipped behind the mountain (Sunbursts are also a great example of this as well)
Classic Examples of Paintings and Lighting Effects
1. Rembrandt’s "The Night Watch": Rembrandt used dramatic chiaroscuro lighting to enhance the sense of action and drama, spotlighting key figures against deep, dark backgrounds. This lighting draws viewers directly to the painting’s focal points, adding intensity and depth.
2. Monet’s "Impression, Sunrise": Monet employed soft, diffused light to capture the atmospheric qualities of early morning. The gentle, hazy lighting evokes tranquility and a sense of calm, demonstrating how diffused light can soften a scene’s appearance and create mood.
3. Turner’s "The Fighting Temeraire": Turner masterfully used warm, golden evening light to convey deep emotion and symbolism, creating a nostalgic and poetic atmosphere. The glowing sky and reflections emphasize the painting’s emotional depth, showing the transformative power of warm, directional light.
4. Caspar David Friedrich’s "Woman Before the Rising Sun": Friedrich skillfully utilized backlighting to produce a dramatic silhouette against a vibrant sky. This technique emphasizes the figure’s contemplative isolation and the powerful emotional effect of dawn, showcasing how backlighting can heighten drama and highlight symbolic meaning.
Training Your Eye to See Light Differently
Learning to truly see light takes practice. Painters spend years developing their visual skills before ever creating their masterpieces, and photographers can do the same by embracing observation exercises.
Exercises to Strengthen Your Light Perception:
Monet’s Method: Pick one subject and photograph it multiple times throughout the day. Notice how drastically your images change as the light shifts—just like Monet’s cathedral.
Light Journaling: Keep notes or sketches of the same location at various times, recording your observations about how light affects mood and appearance.
Black & White Studies: Shoot or convert images to grayscale to focus purely on the relationship between light and shadow.
Tonal Mapping: Before shooting, quickly map out the brightest and darkest areas in your composition to see how they balance visually.
Left: "Market Stall at Night" by Petrus Van Schendel, 1806-70
Right: The cholla cactus of Arizona at sunrise, I took this New Year's Morning in 2020. The early morning sun casting side light amongst the cacti, much like the light of candles in Petrus Van Schendel's Market by Candlelight series.
Elevating Your Photography Through Artistic Study
Consume Art to Create Art... Integrating classical art techniques into your photography isn’t about copying paintings—it’s about learning to approach photography with an artist’s sensitivity to light, composition, and storytelling.
The next time you step out with your camera, pause and ask yourself: How would a painter capture this moment? By adopting this mindset, you’ll start seeing scenes differently, opening up a whole new world of creative possibilities.
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